1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a garage having a parking position indicator which moves in response to the garage door.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The space available in the garage of a home is generally restricted. Upon pulling a vehicle into the garage, it is difficult to know when the vehicle is properly positioned. This is especially true for a large vehicle.
To assist in the proper positioning of a vehicle in a garage, parking position indicators have been developed. One type of indicator consists of an object suspended from a flexible element such as a cord. When the windshield of a vehicle touches the object, the vehicle is properly positioned in the garage.
The object can be suspended from a fixed location of the garage ceiling. However, the object then hinders freedom of movement in the garage when the vehicle is not present.
To overcome this drawback, the object is suspended in such a manner that it rises to the ceiling as the garage door closes and drops to windshield height as the garage door opens. This is currently achieved by attaching the cord from which the object is suspended to the garage door.
In most garages, the distance from windshield height to ceiling is less than the distance through which the garage moves. Hence, it is necessary to compensate for the difference in the distance of travel of the object and the distance of travel of the garage door.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,865, one conventional manner of compensating for the difference in the distances of travel is to make at least part of the cord elastic. This has the disadvantage that the cord loses its elasticity over time and will eventually snap. When the cord snaps, damage or injury can occurs
As shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,874,322 and 3,817,203, another conventional manner of compensating for the difference in the distance of travel of the object and the distance of travel of the garage door involves the use of a reel having two portions of different diameter. Two cords are employed with one of the cords being attached to the garage door as well as the larger-diameter portion of the reel. The second cord carries the object and is attached to the smaller-diameter portion of the reel. As the garage door closes, the cord attached to the garage door is pulled by the latter and unwound from the reel. The reel then rotates in a sense such that the cord with the object is wound onto the reel thereby causing the object to rise. When the garage door opens so that the cord attached to the garage door is no longer under tension, the reel rotates under the weight of the object and the object drops. The cord attached to the object is unwound from the reel whereas the cord attached to the garage door is wound onto the reel.
The last arrangement for indicating parking position is somewhat complex. Thus, the arrangement requires two cords with a suitable ratio of lengths. Moreover, the arrangement requires the reel to have two portions whose diameters differ and lie in a specific proportion.